3.5, rounding up. Tauhou is beautifully written and evocative, perhaps more a collection of vignettes than a cohesive linear narrative, highly experimental as far as novels go and utterly compelling. Nuttall can do a lot -a lot- with very few words, bringing characters and moods to life in scenes of only a few pages and exploring themes with depth and thoughtfulness. I can't say this novel was quite what I expected from the description, but I would absolutely read more from Kōtuku Titihuia Nuttall based on this book.

Content warnings: colonialism, racism, residential schools, child abuse, sexual abuse, rape (mentioned, not on page), suicidal thoughts, suicide, fire injury